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Seven Seconds or Mess: Webisode 16

In Episode 16 the Atlanta Hawks do their part in the making of the Chris Duhon highlight reel. You can watch the video in high quality here or hover over the triangle on the lower right of the player and click on HQ.

Some, if not all, of you may not agree about the Knicks playing the best basketball they can play at the moment. I think they are because I can’t see any better production from this roster. Four of the nine players in the rotation – Harrington, Chandler, Richardson and Thomas – are all wildcards on any given night but overall they’re performing at the level I expect offensively. And with the Knicks already jumping up seven spots in defensive efficiency from last season, it’s doubtful that they make any more significant improvements before season’s end. Basically, I think this roster is maxed which is a compliment to Mike D’Antoni. He’s taken this roster to twenty wins and is one spot shy of the eighth seed in the East this early. Before the season, I didn’t think that was possible.

Let me know what you think in this article because we’re at the midway point and it’s a good time to discuss these things.

8 comments on “Seven Seconds or Mess: Webisode 16”

During the Hawks game, one of the Knick announcers (Trautwig?) repeatedly mentioned how Josh Smith looked as if he didn’t care. I would extend that to all the Hawks. As for Marvin Williams, what an awful bust. He can’t rebound or block shots.

As for the Knicks – you’re right about this being as good as it gets. I don’t leave it out of the realm of possibility that Walsh makes a deal before the deadline. But I don’t see anything big happening. And I don’t see them getting much better. New York is on pace for 36 wins. I’ll be surprised if they win that many.

The good news is that the season is already a success. Lee might be an All Star. Robinson is contributing regularly. Gallinari is getting his sea legs. We cut a bunch of salary. Things are going better than expected.

I agree that this is stretch of 10 games is about as good as we can expect from the Knicks.

The thing is over these last ten games the Knicks are playing as good as any team in the east besides the big three. In the last ten games they have four wins against playoff teams (Hou, NO, Pho, Atl). If the Knicks can continue to play like they have over the last two weeks they should easily make the playoffs.

I think the Knicks are not going to be able to consistantly continue this level of play however so I do expect a drop off. Even with a fall to reality though I think the Knicks still have a solid shot at the #8 seed. They are as good or better than any of the teams they are battling and if the Knicks stay healthy and focused I could see them slipping into the playoffs.

On the other hand if they can continue this level of play I could see the Knicks gain ground and end up at or even slightly above .500.

“On the other hand if they can continue this level of play I could see the Knicks gain ground and end up at or even slightly above .500.”

ok, let’s not go nuts. have you seen their next four games? they’ll likely come out of that at 21-28, which would mean they need to finish 20-13 to get to .500. they are playing surprisingly well, but that’s not realistic, I don’t think.

and, yeah, as I’ve been saying for a while, D’Antoni deserves consideration for Coach of the Year.

when Chandler was benched a couple of games ago, MSG had Tim Thomas miked up, and before the game they showed him on the bench talking to Chandler and giving him advice.

so when Tim Thomas, one of the laziest and most self-centered guys in the league, is acting that unselfishly (keep in mind that if Chandler flamed out, Thomas likely gets more minutes), you know something special is going on.

During the Hawks game, one of the Knick announcers (Trautwig?) repeatedly mentioned how Josh Smith looked as if he didn’t care. I would extend that to all the Hawks.
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The good news is that the season is already a success. Lee might be an All Star. Robinson is contributing regularly. Gallinari is getting his sea legs. We cut a bunch of salary. Things are going better than expected.

Isn’t it annoying when players who aren’t into the game can still fill the box score (26 pts, 12 rebs, 4 stls and 2 blks) the way Smith did that game?

And yes, this season is a huge success. People tend to gloss over what has been accomplished because they still see James, Curry, Marbury and Jeffries on the roster.

On the other hand if they can continue this level of play I could see the Knicks gain ground and end up at or even slightly above .500.

That’s some really wishful thinking. Milwaukee and Philadelphia are the 7th and 8th seeds and they’ve swept the season series against the Knicks to date. Then there’s Miami. The Knicks beat beat five playoff teams this month but that was while they were all struggling. Miami took out the Magic and Lakers while they were playing well. Miami’s a better team. This team isn’t gaining ground on anyone .500 or better.

I agree we can’t get too carried away. We could easily end up with a 4 game losing streak (the first game after “dream week” is the Blazers on the road. But also agree the season has been a success and D’Antoni is perfect for this team.

BTW, what I like about Gian’s clip is it shows what a great decision maker Duhon is, which is what being a solid PG is all about. Despite Lee’s breakout season and Nate’s recent exploits, there’s no doubt Duhon is the MVP of this team and the player we can least afford to go down with an injury.

I said if they continue this level of play .500 is possible, I also said I did not think they would. As for Miami and Philly I do not expect NY to catch either of them but I do not think that Milwaukee is making the playoffs. Redd is out and I expect them to fade.

I would not put money on the Knicks either but my point was NY is just as good as the other teams fighting for the 8th seed, (Mil, NJ, Tor, Chr, Chi, Ind) so the playoffs are still very possible.

If you look at the Knicks schedule over the next ten games then you see that winning five of those games is very possible even with the impossible four game stretch, so I do not think it will necessarily kill the Knicks. Now the question is whether the Knicks can remain consistant and beat the Indiana’s and Toronto’s over the next couple of weeks to make the losses to the elite teams not be too bad. It will be a good test and will really show what this team is made of.

I agree with Mike K. The hawks were looking horrible in that game, not to take any credit away from the knicks who are deff playing better ball. Smith did his role but as a whole team defensively slacking.

Isn’t it good to see robinson get up like that. It still amazes me that the guy can fly like that. lol. But as far as the Knicks winning 36 games would be an accomplishment for them but a slot in the playoffs seems more like a dream then a goal.